My first official press event at NYCC'11 was a demo of the upcoming action-RPG Shoot Many Robots. This is a high energy shot-em-up game in the vein of the old side-scrolling arcade fighters. The enemies come one after the other from all sides and angles. My guide for the demo was Justin Lokey, Associate Producer from Demiurge Studios. He was kind, clear, and even helped my horrible reflexes get through one stage of this game. I've gotten into many arguments with people over kill everything games because my eyes don't respond well to the high amount of movement on screen. Though Shoot Many Robots is hectic, it is not overwhelming. After a quick tutorial from Justin, I was able to shoot with the best of them. I even beat him in the collaborative and competitive co-op mode. You're working together to beat each stage, but you are ranked at the end of it and receive experience/money weighted by the number of robots killed.
The action-RPG element comes with upgrading weapons. As your character gains experience and levels up, he is able to handle more and more bizarre and destructive weapons. You might laugh at the pink fairy wings until you realize you can fly for a long time over your enemies with them. Similar fates await you if you explore options like a cat carrier and a gun that shoots lawn gnomes. The more you play, the more experience you get. The more experience you get, the more absurd the action becomes. Absurdity is this game's strength.
My demo session was on an XBOX360 controller. The controls felt fine. The response time was good and the platforming elements were easy to handle once you figured out where, exactly, you were supposed to go. Aiming the weapons would be easy for someone capable of working two analog sticks at the same time; I am not that person. I aim and shoot, then I move. Never the two shall meet.
Two new robots were debuted at the demo station. The first is a robotic worm. It hops in and out of the ground, occasionally shooting out projectiles. It's mostly a melee robot that wrecks you if you happen to stand in the wrong spot.
The second new robot is an airship. It shoots projectiles and floats back and forth across the screen. It's a deadly dirigible and, unless I imagined it, seemed to be weak against fire.
If I understood Justin correctly, certain robots are particularly weak against certain weapons. He pointed out that one of the fast and small robot types is weak against the ice gun. This adds even more of an RPG element than just the weapon upgrades.
Shoot Many Robots seems to be trying to go for as wide an audience as possible. I think that's a wise choice. The game is being released on the downloadable networks--XBOX Live, Playstation Network, and PC (probably through Steam)--and games for download live or die on their relatability. RPG fans will find a good bit of nuance in the character building, while shooting fans will find the varied many robot targets fun and challenging.
